Bottle brushing apparatus



y 1933. J, R. GRUETTER 1,916,568

EOTTLE BRUSHING APPARATUS Fil'ed Sept. 14, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l F 4 U H after/ma 5 July 4, 1933. J. R. GRUETTER BOTTLE BRUSHING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 14, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 4, 1933. .1. R. GRUETTER BOTTLE BRUSHING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 14. 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q will lunllh'" 2 MW 1 w h m N i a New di mw m3 r Patented July 4, 1933 hearse STATES JOHN a. cesarean, on CLEVELAND, onro, Assrenon. T0 rnnnreurn cAnBonIc con- PORATION, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,.A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE BOTTLE 'BRusHINe APPARATUS Application filed September 14.1929. Serial m ma,

This invention relates to apparati ls for each transverse series of bottle supports'inay constitute an element of an endless conveyor by which the bottles and their supports are advanced intermittently through an apparatus wherein the bottlesare subjected to additional cleaning treatments while in transit.

The general purpose and object of the invention herein is toprovide, for bottle cleain ing n1echanis1n,"'s1mple and effective means for thoroughly brushing theexteriors of the bottles while in'transit. Further and more limited objects of the invention are to improvethe' construction and modeof operation of such brushing mechanism.

In thedraw'ings forming part hereof, Fig,

1 represents a transverse sectional View through part of a bottle cleaning apparatus in which my invention is embodied, the'bottlelifting and lowering spindles the bottle supporting frame, and the brushing mechanism being shown in elevation; Fig. 2 is a plan view and Fig. 3 is aside elevation of the assembly shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 a detail in elevation of the spindlecross head and the means for raising and lowering the same; Fig.5 a detail in vertical section through the brushin mechanism and part of a. bottle-supporting ra'me Fig. 6 a detail in section through the brushing mechanism, the bottle supporting frame being shownin elevation an d 12) its elevated position, the view showing the positions of the parts when 'a series of bottles the brushing mechanism; Fig.7 is a view, similar to Fig. 6, and showing the positions of theparts when the bottles are in their uppermost positions with reference to the brushing mechanismyFig. 8 a detail in sec-.

is projected into the lower portion of V -a post 15 and which bracket forms" the support for the framework 6.

tion' through one'of'the brushes which:operates uponthe bottoms of the bottles; Fig. 9 a bottom plan view of one of such brushes; and Fig. 10 a detail in section through one of the swinging links by whichthe brush frames aresuspended.

- Describing the parts by reference characters, 1 denotes a pair .of channeledv tracks on which transverse bottle supporting frames 2 are mounted by rollers 3. Ina type of hottle .cle'anerrwhich is in extensive use, the j frames 2 are fiexibly connected in such man'- ner as to form a continuous conveyor, which conveyor .is moved intermittently along the tracks 1. Eachframefl contains atransverse series of bottleisupports 4:, each sup port being shown as an open-topreceptacle having. a substantially ,frusto-conical bottom 4? for supporting a bottle by engagement with the bulging shoulder thereof, in -'Figs.

1,5; Sand 7 the bottles'being shown at 5 and I each lhavingitsneck 5 projected through the opening in the seating portion '4? of the support.

- Mounted inany suitable manner above the rails 2 is the brushingapparatusflhe said apparatus comprising a pair'of transversely extending upperbrushes, a pair of trans-- versely extending lower brushes which are movable toward and from each other, means for rotating the latter.

6 denotes a framework extending transversely of the apparatus, said framework each end thereof, each of the brackets at each end of the framework being provided with 'a bearingsleeve 8, which sleeves support the ends of a shaft 9, driven by a gear 7 "10 thereon meshing with a pinion 11 on' a having a pair of" depending brackets 7 at short shaft 12 which in turn is driven by a pul-ley 13. The outer end of thesha ft 12 is supported by a bearings'leeve 12 on an upwardly extending bracket 14: mounted on The shaft 9 is provided, intermediate its ends with a beveled pinion 16 meshing with a. beveled gear 17 on the bottomof a shaft part of i 18 which carries at its upper end a master gear 19, the said master gear being mounted in the offset central portion of a gear box 20 and meshing with the central gear of a transverseseries of gears 21 in'said box, each of which gears 21 is secured to a hollow spindle 22 by means of a key 22 ,-which hollow spindle is in turn mounted within a bushing 23. Each hollow spindle 22 is provided with anangular bore for the reception 7 of an angular reciprocable spindle 24, each spindle 24 having secured to its lower end i an inverted cup 25 provided at its bottom with downwardly and outwardly extending fingers 26' and having radial ribs 28 projectingthereinto from the cylindrical wall thereof. "Within each cup 25 there is reciprocablymounted a brush comprising a base 27 having radial slots for the reception of the ribs 28. Secured to the base are the bristles 29v of thebrush; and the brush is reciprocably mounted in -the cup by means of studs 30 extending, through openings in the upwardly presented cup bottom. Each cup is secured'to aspindle'24,-as;by means of a pin 3.1 eXend-ing through the hub 32 of the cup and the lower endof the spindle.

88 denotes a-pair ofiupper brush'frames each carrying the bristles 34, the said brush frames extendingtransversely of the apparatus and being spaced apart a distance vwhich will; enable the brushes to operate ef- ,ficiently on the outer surfaces of the bottles 5. :Each brush frame is suspended from the framework '6 by means of a pair of links 85 and 36,.each mounted at its upper end "on a pivot pin 37. Each of the links '35, and 36 is pivotally connected at its lower end to a ,fr-ame 33,:asby pivot pins'38. As it is desirable to cushion the to-and-froxmovemcnt 0f the brush frames atthe end of each stroke, vthe following constructionis employed. in

,the connections for reciprocating thev frames through the links 36:39 denotes a. crank shaft which is journaled in the brackets 7 at the endof theframework 6 which is opposite the pulley 13 and which has adjacent one endthereof of a beveled gear 40 meshing with i r a beveled pinion 41 on the shaft 9. The shaft 39 is provided atone end with'a crank 42 havingia crank pin 42 while the beveled gear 40, at the opposite end of the shaft is provided, with a crank pin 43. 44 denotes 7' connecting rods extending from the crank pins 42 and 43, respectively, and each projecting through an aperture 45 provided in termediate the ends of each of the links 36.

Each rod 44is mounted in a small hub 46 located within each aperture 45, the said hubs being pivotally mounted in the aper. tures 45 by means of trunnions 47see Figs.

7 and 10, A coiledspring 48 is interposed betweenone side of-the hub 46. and an ad ustable stop 49 on each rod 44, while a similar coiled spring 50 is interposed between the Each of these brackets has pivoted thereon a gear segments 58, and one of these segments 15 provided with an operating lever arm 54.

The outer end'of the arm 54 is connected to a rod 55 which is shdably mounted in a sleeve 56 pivotally connected'to the top ofa link 56 pivoted at lts lower end to a'lever arm 57 having one end secured to-one end of a rock shaft 58 while its otherend is connected by a link 59 to one end of a crosshead60 which carries a transverse series of lifting rods 61 and which is slidably mounted on guide rails 60 Each of the rodsjdl has mounted there- .on a bottle engaging spindle 61 having a mouth engaging portion 61", the spindle being rotatably mounted on a ball 61 at the 1 bottom of a sleeve formed in the top of said rod. The opposite end of the cross head is connected bya link 59 and a lever arm to the opposite end of the rock shaft 58.

Each of the gear segments 53 is provided with an upwardly QXtBIICllIlgTXZI-IRQ 53? each having at upper end; pair of vertically extending rollers 53?.

62 denotes a pair of lower brush frames,

veach having bristles 63 and each such frame being pivotally suspended from the ends of the main upper brush frames 33 by links 64,

each link being pivoted at its upper end on a stud or pin 65, carried by the corresponding .end of the upper brushframe andeach of the lower brush frames being in turn mounted I in the lower ends of the links 64 by means of rods 66. These rods -e Xtend between-the rollers 53 so that, when the arm '54 is rocked through the movement of the lever 57, this movement will TOOK the brush frames 62Ltoward or from each other, depending upon t the direction of movement of the rod 55;

Normally, the'lower brushes will be in the positions shown in Figs. 5V and-6, with the lower ends of the frames diverging outwardly so as to provide a downwardly divergent rspace therebetween for the reception of the u bottles 5 and the cups 25. In ordennotto close this space until the bottles shall have.

been lifted to the desired extent, there is a lost-motion connection between the lever 57 and the rod 55 which rocks the lower brushes.

This lostmotion connection is obtained by p the sleeve 56 and astop 55 on the rod, whereby the' head 60 with its spindle rods 61 will necessarily .have'to be elevated until the sleeve and the stop contact before the lower brushes can be rocked toward each other,

cleaned by such brushes.

which will occur after the bottles have been lifted the desired distance above their supports a by the spindle rods.

A spring 67 which is connected to the arm 54 and toa fixed part of the structure, serves to rock the said arm and to move the bottoms of the lower brushes outwardly as soon as the rod '55 moves downwardly.

In Figs. 5 and 6, the brushes are shown i the positions which theyoccupy immediately beforea transverse series of bottles is elevated between the upper brush frames 33 by the spindle rods, while Fig. 7 shows the positions of the brushes after the bottles have been raised to bring their bottoms between the upper brushes, and when the the bottles are in their most elevated position. From these views, it will be evident that when the bottoms of the bottles engage the brushes in the cups 25, the brushes serve to cushion the impact of the bottle bottoms and, because the brush spindles are rotating rapidly, there will be some slippage between the brushes proper and the bottle bottoms, with the result that the bottoms of the bottles will be As the bottles move upwardly, their sides are operated upon by the upper brushes while the lower brushes are swung inwardly to contact with the shoulders and necks of the bottles. During this operation, the brushes on each side are reciprocated in reverse directions by the crank shaft 39 and the crank connections between V. said shaft and the arms or links 36. Pipes 68 extend longitudinally of and above the brushes and serve to supply jets of water to the brushes and the bottles during the brushing operation.

By virtue of the construction and arrangement of parts shown and described herein, a transverse series of bottles may be quickly and most effectively brushed and cleaned; the life of the brushing mechanism is prolonged through the yielding drive afforded between the crank shaft and the swinging arms 36; and the danger of breakage to the bottles is reduced to a minimum.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a bottle cleaning apparatus, the combination of a series of bottle supports, a pair of opposed spaced upper reciprocable brushes arranged above said bottle supports, a pair of brushes movably supported below, the first brushes, a series of vertically reciprocable bottle-bottom brushes arranged between the first mentioned brushes and means for rotating such bottle-bottom brushes, means for lifting the bottles from their suptles for moving the second pair of brushes inwardly toward each other, thereby to bring them into engagement with the shoulders and necks of the bottles, means for reciprocating the first and second pairs of brushes, and 2 means operative the return of the bottles to their supports for separating the second pair of brushes. r

2. In a bottle cleaning apparatus, the combination of a series of bottle supports, apair of opposed spaced upper reciprocable brushes arranged above said bottle supports, a pair of brushes below the first mentioned brushes and pivotally supported from said first-mentioned brushes in separated relation, a series of vertically reciprocable bottle-bottom brushes arranged between the first pair of brushes and means for rotating such bottle-bottom brushes, means for lifting the bottles fromtheir supports and for elevat-- for reciprocatingthe first and second pairs of brushes, and means operative by the return of the bottles to their supports for rocking the second pair of brushes about their pivots away from each other thereby to withdraw said brushes from engagement with the necks and shoulders of the bottles and to hold said brushes in separated relation.

3. In a bottle cleaning apparatus, the combination of a series of bottle supports each adapted to support a bottle mouth-downward thereon, a pair of opposed reciprocable brushes above the said bottle supports, a series of bottle-bottom brushes. arranged between the first-mentioned brushes, vertically movable supports for said bottle-bottom brushes, means for rotating said supports, and vertically movable means for connecting the said brushes with their respective supports for vertical movement with respect thereto, means for lifting the bottles from their supports and for elevating the same between the firstmentioned brushes with the bottoms of the bottles in engagement with the bottle-bottom brushes, means for reciprocating the first mentioned brushes, and means for lowering the bottles to their supports at the conclusion of the brushing operation.

4. In a bottle cleaning apparatus, thecombination of a series of bottle supports, a pair of opposed upper reciprocable brushes above said bottle supports,'a pair of'brushes arranged below the first brushes and pivotally supported therefrom, means for lifting the bottles m Said pp and for elevat 5 brushes toward each other thereby to bring them into "engagement with the shoulders and necks of the bottles, means for reciprocating the said brushes, and means operative by the return "of the bottles to their supports for separating the lower brushes.

5'. In a bottle cleaning apparatus, the combination of a series of bottle supports, a pair -"of opposed 'upper reciprocable brushes above said bottle supports, a pair of brushes pivotally supported below the first brushes, means for lifting the bottles from their supports and for elevating the same between the said brushes and for thereafter returning by the lifting of the bottles between the brushes for rocking the lower brushes about their pivotal supports thereby to bring such brushes into engagement with the shoulders and necks of the bottles projected therebetween, means for reciprocating the said brushes, and means operative by the return of the bottles to their supports for rocking the lower brushes about their pivotal supports thereby to bring such brushes out of engagement with the shoulders and necks of the bottles. 7

6. In a bottle cleaning apparatus, the com bination of a series of bottle supports, a pair of opposed upper reciprocable brushes above said bottle supports, a pair of brushes pivotally supported below the first brushes, means for lifting the said bottles from their supports and for elevating the same between the said brushes and for thereafter returning them to said-supports, rocking means for said lower brushes normally holding them with their brushing surfaces diverging downwardly, and means whereby the upward movement of such bottle lifting means will rock the lower brushes thereby to move them into engagement with the bottles inserted therebetween and the downward movement of said bottle lifting means will rock the said brushes in the reverse direction.

7. In a bottle cleaning apparatus, the combination of a series of bottle supports, a pair of brushes above said supports, a'brush movably mounted below each of the first mentioned brushes, means for moving the said said means normally holding the brushes in separated relation, means for lifting the bottles from their supports and for moving them -upwardly between the saidbrushes and for thereafter lowering the said bottles upon "their supports, connections between the botbottle-raising-and-lowering means and the brush-moving means whereby the lower 1 brushes will be moved toward each other when the bottles shall have been raised at them to said supports, and means operative and away from each other.

9. In a bottle cleaning apparatus, the com- 7;

l'ower brushes toward and from each other,-

predetermined distance from their supports and will be separated by the downward movement of the lifting means, and means for reciprocating the said brushes.

8. In a bottle cleaning apparatus, the comly between said brushes and for thereafter returning them to their supports, connections between such bottle-raising-and-lowering means and the brushes for moving the brushes toward each other as the bottles move upwardly, means for separating the brushes when the bottles move downwardly, and means for reciprocating said brushes in a plane transverse to their movement toward bination of a series of bottle supports each adapted to support a bottle mouth-downward thereon, brushes'above the said bottle supports adapted to operate on the sides of prising each an inverted cup, a brush reciprocable in said cup and a reciprocable spindle connected with said cup, means for rotating said spindles, means for lifting bottles from their supports and elevating the same between the first mentioned brushes with the bottoms of the bottles in engagement with the bottle-bottom brushes, and means for lowering the bottles to their supports at the conclusion of the brushing oper-z ation. V

10. A bottle-bottom brush comprising a cup adapted to engage the bottom of abottle, means for rotating the same, and a brush proper reciprocably mounted in said cup and-3.. having a driving connection therewith.

11. A bottlebottom brush comprising a cup adapted to engage the bottom of a bottle with means for rotating the same, and a brush proper within said cup, the said brush come prising a base reciprocably mounted in said cup, the interior oi the said cup and the said base having interengaging recesses and projections whereby the said brush is driven by the said cup. 12. A bottle-bottom brush comprising a cup having fingers sloping outwardly from the rim thereof and means for rotating said cup, and a brush proper having a base provided with one or more pins projecting through the bottom of the cup, the cup having a plurality of radial ribs and'the brush base having slots for said ribs. a a v 13. In bottle cleaning apparatus, the com bination of a series of bottle supports, a pair of brushes located above said supports, a brush pivo-tally-supported below each of the first mentioned brushes, a vertically reciprocable cross head, lifting rods carried by said cross head and adapted, when theeross head 1 bottles, a series of bottle-bottom brushes comis elevated, to lift the bottles from their sup ports, means for raising andlower'ing the said cross head, mterengagmg'means for slmultaneously rocking the lower brushes about their respective pivots, a connection between the first mentioned. means and the second mentloned means for rocking the lower brushes inwardly toward each other about their pivots y when the bottles shall have been raised a p retioned means as the bottles are lowered to- 7 ward their supports.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

JOHN R. GRUETTER. 

